Week in Review: Gadolinium in beer | PET and emotional numbing from PTSD | Last call for Minnies nominations

Dear AuntMinnie Member, 

Beer is made mostly of water, so it's not surprising that traces of gadolinium would be found in the most popular alcoholic beverage now that the rare earth element used in most MRI contrast agents has increasingly been detected in water supplies around the world.  

Our most highly read story from last week featured coverage of research that documented relatively small amounts of gadolinium in a number of beers and sugar-rich drinks produced in Europe, Asia, and South America. 

At number two was our report on how PET has shown that emotional numbing symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are significantly linked to a receptor in the brain’s endocannabinoid system.

Other stories generating interest featured topics such as the performance of an AI algorithm in detecting prostate cancer, a large language model fine-tuned for summarizing free-text radiology findings, and contrast-enhanced mammography and digital breast tomosynthesis for preoperative breast cancer staging.

You’ll also want to check out our video interview with CT colonography (CTC) expert Perry Pickhardt, MD, for an update on how Medicare reimbursement has affected utilization of what he calls the “best-kept secret in medicine.” 

Finally, the nominations period is about to end for the Minnies, our annual award program recognizing excellence in radiology. If you know any worthy candidates for any of the 14 Minnies categories, we invite you to submit a nominations survey by September 2. We’ll announce semifinalists for the 2025 Minnies in a few weeks. After you complete your survey, check out our previous winners. 

See below for the full list of our top stories from last week.

Erik L. Ridley
Editor in Chief
AuntMinnie.com